


A Headfirst Slide into Sentience

by goldfootedfool



Category: Brawlhalla (Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 01:11:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16007159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldfootedfool/pseuds/goldfootedfool
Summary: A collection of one-shots with our favorite alien and viking as their friendship blossoms, and Orion learns what it means to be sentient.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'm back at it again at the krispy kreme. these r a bunch of one shots that i've written abt orion w drop ins from some of ur favorite legends! i'll try to update this periodically. n i'll add more tags later when i realize what to put there haha probably change the title as well when i figure out what i want this to be!

He almost felt bad for all that he had done to Orion up to this point. The challenges, the words, the stares. How was he to know that Orion had been telling the truth when he said he wasn't þorr? the gods were tricky- and they tested the nord before, and surely they would again.    
  
but perhaps talking the helm from his body,- and finding nothing underneath,- was a bit much for Bödvar to do. But he wouldn't apologize. He was a curious man by nature and a stubborn one at that. Those traits clashed behind a worn face and a ( very handsome ) beard.    
  
Still, he would not apologize. He felt he had no reason to do so.   
  
As he walked through the halls, Bödvar recognized the figure sitting in front of the fireplace, and a curious man he was, decided to investigate. The figure clad in gold armour sat in front of a roaring fire, almost too hot for Bödvar to handle. He pressed forward and sat next to the man, offering him a drink.   
  
Orion gave Bödvar little notice when he sat, and maybe the small nod of his head was for him, and not a crackling ember that had gone flying out to touch Orion's boots. Orion inspected it, a small tilt of his helmet, micro movements that held Bödvar captive.   
  
"So tell me, Lopt mađur," he began, "if you are not a god, then what are you? what of your kind?" When the silence pressed on, Bödvar pushed one of the tankards into Orion's hands, and kept one for himself. He knew the other wouldn't drink it. All the same; the weight of something in hand while you spoke was comfort to the nord, and perhaps would give comfort to the one that sat next to him.    
  
Orion turned his head down, and watched the mead, much like he watched the flames. Why did he watch everything as he did in silence? What was he considering? Did he fear he would seem foolish if he asked questions? Orion ripped Bödvar from these thoughts when he heard the muffled sigh from in the helmet.   
  
"I do not know much of my people. We are scattered. There is no need for us to be bunched together. We make stars-- constellations and we map out the sky. After a number of years, we come together to piece these maps together and reproduce," his finger picked at the metal on the side of the tankard as he looked into the fire once more. Bödvar was sure the other was done speaking before the robotic sound started again.   
  
"I  _know_  you have many questions. About me; about my people, but I believe it... pains me to speak about these subjects. Human emotions are still," the pause was thick with grief, with emotion that Bödvar could reach out and touch, "foreign to me. I know the bases. Joy, sadness, anger. But it is hard for me to experience these things when I do not know how it is  _I_  feel. I do not know if my people feel or if this is what I picked up from years of wandering on earth."   
  
If Bödvar felt grief stricken his heart, could anyone blame him? "When I am up there, in space, making stars, there is a chill that wraps around you and suffocates. Creating stars is the only way to warm yourself."    
  
And suddenly Bödvar understood why Orion kept close to the flames, why he always seemed to stick to sunnier parts of Valhalla's fields, why his armour was almost too hot to touch.    
  
"After the first time I visited earth, I realized I did not want to give up this warmth," Orion's hand lifted out to almost touch the flames at the base of the logs, "I didn't want to feel the chill anymore," the pause was pregnant, "I do not know what more to say."   
  
Bödvar let everything settle into his system, eyes keeping contact with the flame, even if his companion was in grief. There was so little he could do, and what he could do felt like it wasn't enough. When he turned back to Orion, his helmet had fallen back to staring at the tankard, and Bödvar felt something twist inside of him.   
  
He took the tankard from the man,- no, being, next to him, rose, and sat them both upon the nearby table. If he settled closer to Orion than he had before, the other didn't object.


	2. Cold Valhallan Winters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orion is making a friend and doesn't understand the principles of friendship

"Orion! How are you doing today?" The slap on his back was unexpected to say the least, and it propelled Orion a step forward. The strength in his friend still surprised him, no matter how many times Bödvar did this. One shouldn't forget that there was a bear somewhere under that man's skin.  
  
But he was a friend. This made Orion smile, or the closest thing he could do to a smile in his current form. Bödvar came to him now and spoke to Orion as if he were an equal, not as if he were his god þorr in disguise.  
  
"I am faring well. But, I cannot help but feel that winter is approaching." And although the winter in Valhalla was nowhere near as cold as the expanses of space, it was a force to be reckoned with. A quick look to Bödvar gave the other the idea that he could read what little body language he had because an arm wrapped itself around Orion's shoulders and pulled him in close.  
  
"Do not worry, Orion, the pelts here are so warm that not even the coldest depths of winter can touch you," the sound that Bödvar made was deep and warm. a sound that made Orion want to laugh along. Orion felt it vibrate through his armour, and he laughed, a short noise that sounded unnatural. If it was unsettling, Bödvar made no notion to it. "The mead could also help you, though, come to think of it, I've never seen you eat."  
  
The nord stroked his beard as they walked toward the great hall, a look of puzzlement on his face. "Can you even eat?" Orion allowed himself to laugh again.  
  
"I have eaten before, Bödvar. It is not like I have never taken the form of a human to fit in. I quite like chocolates, when able to have them. And cheese as well. I've had a lot of cheese, if you can believe that. It's mystifying how something can change in taste from only the feed the animals graze upon. Cows are as they were a thousand years ago, as well as goats and sheep. Yet things happen so fast on earth: your years, your seasons, your days," he huffed a breath, "it is baffling."  
  
He stopped. it took Orion a few moments to realize that he had begun to ramble. Something he could only call embarrassment washed over him and he laughed. Why would he laugh at such a time? The metallic sound washed over the two. He guessed he had picked it up from the humans in Valhalla, and he turned to Bödvar.  
  
The man had a smile on his face. Why? Orion was saying things that the nord must already know, and yet he was smiling. Was that how friendship worked? As he thought, a silence drifted over them, and it hung over them like a warm blanket, but not suffocating. Enjoyable.


	3. A friend you say?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little blurb about eating together. i cant remember if it was written before or after the second chapter.

"This hall is empty... It would be easy to sneak in food for you to try and we can eat together."   
  
"Thank you, but that is completely unnecessary."   
  
"It's no trouble for me, and anyway, I want to do it."   
  
"Because you are my friend?"   
  
"Exactly!"   
  
"And because you are curious to what I look like when I eat," he nudged the other man and laughed. The sound was beginning to sound more natural, and it pleased Orion that he was becoming more human.   
  
Bödvar gave him a sheepish grin, "also true, but my intentions are pure at heart," he said with a timely placed hand over his chest. "There are many fine things here I wish to share with you. Food being one of them. On earth, there is nothing like what I have tasted here. The fruits are riper, the meats flavored, the fish, well, they are less... fishy." His nose crinkled at the thought and he chuckled.   
  
Orion considered the nord's offer. On one hand, he could deny his friends request, and they would continue sitting in each other's company in silence. Not sufficating, just a gentle silence as they enjoyed their time together. On the other, he could do as Bödvar wished and eat with him. There was a time he had a body, while acquainted with Mirage, and it was well formed. But that time had long passed, and he hardly remembered what he looked like.    
  
A thought passed over him. He could create a new form, for the soul purpose of sating Bödvar's curiosity. Or he could keep his soul bare, ha, and let Bödvar see him how he came. Both ideas almost sounded fun. Orion tapped his fingers against the table before moving his hands upward to remove his helmet.    
  
"Alright. But you have to find me strawberries. I remember that long ago Mirage told me I needed to try them."   
  
He had never seen Bödvar smile brighter as he left on his trek for food.


End file.
